


Words that Hurt Worse than Heartbreak.

by External_Yelling



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I posted this while in school, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Other, Past Child Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Tommy needs a better way of coping, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur’s got regrets, Younger Sibling TommyInnit, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27859434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/External_Yelling/pseuds/External_Yelling
Summary: Wilbur didn't mean it, he honest to god didn't mean it.How could he have known that Tommy would take what he said to heart? How could he know that Tommy would run away in response? How could he tell if this mentally unstable 15 year old would end up jumping off all because of a fucked relatiation?
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit & Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Nothing romantic, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, theyre family - Relationship
Comments: 58
Kudos: 1778





	1. Before the Bridge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [far2late](https://archiveofourown.org/users/far2late/gifts).
  * Inspired by [but my mind still says redundant things (can i not think?)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606272) by [far2late](https://archiveofourown.org/users/far2late/pseuds/far2late). 



> Ages  
> ———  
> Philza- 35  
> Techno- 18  
> Wilbur- 18  
> Tommy- 15

_ “I wouldn’t be surprised if Phil sent you back at this point!” _

The lighthearted yet world shattering words rung in Tommy’s head as the blonde listened to the snow crunch under his converse, arms wrapped tightly around his torso as his body shook from mixes of the cold breeze beating against him and the silent sobs that slid from his mouth.

His steps turned sluggish and slow as Tommy coughed, shivering from the additional tears that slipped down his cheeks and added to the cold. It was freezing, and he didn’t have any source of warmth other than the clothes on his back.

Tommy’s mind fogged over any other thoughts that weren’t about how Phil was going to bring him back to the orphanage; at this point, he couldn’t fully remember  why  the sentence had even been said.

-

It was a prank that had twisted the wrong way, a dreadfully wrong way. After what felt like forever of hopping between different foster homes; many filled with neglect or straight-up abuse, Tommy landed on the Watson household.

He was extremely wary when first staying in the house. 

Tommy avoided any unnecessary contact or confrontation with Phil, or his two kids; Techno and Wilbur. 

To put it blankly, he was originally scared of the trio.

Wilbur’s 6’5 ass always had an undertone look of warning in his eyes and motions. Though, Tommy was a bit of a problem child in the first place. The male’s initial mood around him wasn’t surprising. Yet it didn’t stop him from sucking in a breath or bracing himself whenever Wilbur would glance in his direction with a cold stare the first few days.

It took a night full of shouting and tear-stained faces mixed with soft melodies of a guitar and comforting whispers for Tommy to ease up around the taller, and for Wilbur to see that Tommy was more than just a mouthy, loud child. He was protective, and _oh so willing_ to stand up for what he thought was right.

It was a few days later when Tommy slipped up and called Wilbur his brother when talking to Tubbo. Neither he nor Wilbur spoke about it. Nor did Tommy stop calling him that.

Then there was Techno

Techno was just as intimidating, but in his own way. To put it simply; resting bitch face and a monotone voice doesn’t go together around a past abuse victim like Tommy the best. Techno didn’t physically move around as much as Wilbur would, which saved him from more flinching and worried glances from Phil.

He was the strong and uncaring person that Tommy had met many times; but not in the form of someone who had cared about his health. 

And yet, a fucking sunset of all things bought them closer together.

Although it had always been Wilbur and Techno; the pig hybrid was willing to accept Tommy with open arms. Tommy found himself having another source of comfort that was more than just a deadpan glare.

The smile didn’t leave Techno’s face for a week after he overheard Tommy first referring to him as his ‘big annoying older brother’.

Then there was Phil. Tommy didn’t know why he was originally scared of Phil. How could anybody end up scared of _Philza?_

Could it be the way Phil’s sympathetic glances made him sick to his stomach as he always processed them as fake ones from adults? Maybe it was because Tommy grew up without a source of care in his life, a lack of a father figure that didn’t turn to beating him if he messed up in school. Was it the fact that Phil could control if he got sent back to the orphanage or just taken out of the world in general. Whatever it was; he was scared around the winged blonde.

And somehow, although Phil intimidated him the most, It took a soft “I’ll be here when you’re ready” shared to the shorter blonde during an overwhelmingly long breakdown which left Tommy in mental shambles that managed to prove to him that  Phil was different than all the other adults he stayed with before, because that was a voice lined with genuine honesty, comfort, and _care_.

Tommy didn’t know when he started calling Phil dad, but it happened. 

Deep down, Tommy believed that someday Phil would just get sick of him and give him back, send him back to that hell hold where everybody knew him as the ‘child that nobody wanted to love’. His insecurities and fears clawed at his mind- Yet it had never happened. That didn’t stop him from being at-least wary of his actions though.

At the same time; however, he’s Tommy.

He still got around to pranking the older teenagers, keeping everything lighthearted and maybe mildly annoying in an attempt to keep himself from pissing the duo off.

In an attempt to prank Wilbur, though, he tried messing up the tuning on his guitar-

-and somehow snapped all of the strings.

Wilbur had the right to be mad, yeah. Tommy very vaguely remembered Wilbur shouting at him when he found the broken strings, messily bent in Tommy’s attempt to try and fix it; but he had basically spaced out while being yelled at. Was it more or less instinctive from all his past homes to protect himself from getting hurt mentally? He wouldn’t answer that question.

The brunette seemed to catch on to this, watching how Tommy went from rolling his eyes and squawking out complaints or excuses to dead silent with a sour look on his face.

So in an attempt to retaliate, to get at least a bit of payback, [He’s also a teenager, after all] he crossed his arms with a groan just loud enough to catch Tommy’s attention but still seem pissed off. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Phil sent you back at this point!”

Wilbur all but expected to watch the teenager freeze in place, to watch as tears clouded up and fogged over light, baby blue eyes. He watched as Tommy’s shoulders shook and his face reddened as he tried not to cry.

Confusion grew across his face as he stepped closer to the blonde, watching as Tommy stepped back from his approach and inhaled shakily. 

Wilbur’s eyes widened milliseconds later.

He just threatened that Phil would send him back.

Wilbur had never been fully aware of how troublesome Tommy’s past foster homes had been; but considering he had been in foster care himself before, Wilbur probably should’ve realized that his retaliation was too far— especially for a  child that has full-on cowered away at the slightest movements that were too sudden.

He snapped himself back to reality with a small “O-oh my god- Tommy no-“ slipping from his mouth before he froze.

Tommy was gone, and the front door was unlocked.

Wilbur almost knocked the photos off the wall as he slammed into the part next to the door, prying the door open with wide eyes as he quickly looked around. Fresh shoe prints laid in the fallen snow as Wilbur felt dread flood over him. 

“TOMMY!”


	2. During and After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!! This is y’alls Christmas gift. If you don’t celebrate then it’s just a gift <3.
> 
> TW- Suicidal Thoughts

His fingers were going numb.

The tears that had been sliding down his face long faded away and left blotches of red across his cheeks. A sight that definitely didn’t match his usually bubbly personality. 

Everything hurt, his lungs ached from how long he had ran and his lack of calming down didn’t help. His legs hadn’t hurt like this since they made him run the mile twice in school. 

Tommy finally took a moment to look around, not even realizing that he had run to the old, falling apart bridge off in the short forest by the high school, the drop down to the freezing waters below usually had the blonde too “intimidated” to go there. 

Albeit, that was an excuse to just not go there with his few school friends. His mind was never stable the other times he had gone there. [Though, he was never even stable enough to be trusted with sharp objects alone in the first place] Tommy didn’t want to let those thoughts brew just from seeing the place.

That connection barely even crossed his mind right now.

He silently started off into the empty distance for a moment before a violent shiver flooded through him. The slow loss of adrenaline helped him realize how fucking  cold it was.

He listened to the soft crunching of his shoes against the snow as he silently went over and set his hands on the bridge railing, grunting softly as he hoisted himself up and sat down.

The blonde moved to hug himself, shutting his eyes with a shaky breath as he vaguely felt his teeth ever so slightly chatter from just how cold it was.

He blocked out the violent buzzing from his phone, still trying to calm himself down more before finally giving in and slipping the phone out of his pocket.

_ 29 unread messages from Wilby  _

_ 8 missed calls from Wilby _

_ 6 missed calls from Wilby _

_ 12 voicemails from Wilby _

_ Incoming call from Wilby  _

Tommy stated silently at the messages, debating if he’d really reply to him. A part of him wanted to toss the phone into the half frozen over river below. Another part of him wanted to follow after it. 

He never belonged anyways.

He never fit in at school or at home, so why try now? 

This wasn’t the first time he’d emotionally and mentally dropped after all. Tommy found himself in this same headspace and situation many times.

Once again, it wasn’t the first time he had shown up at the bridge either.

The same words rung in his mind as he numbly answered Wilbur’s phone call.

‘ _If you fell in a forest, and nobody was around to hear it; does it really make a sound?_ ’

“TOMMY!” Wilbur’s relieved voice broke the trance Tommy was wrapped in and pulled a wince from the younger, he swallowed, shifting nervously on the bridge ledge. 

“Hey Wilbur,” He murmured, curling up on himself as he shut his eyes, hearing the faint noise of Wilbur’s car radio. 

“Where are you- Are you safe?? Tommy it’s fucking freezing out here you don’t even have a jacket!" The worry dripping from his voice as Tommy stared down at his feet.

“I uh- I’m..” He started, trailing off as his hearing turned fuzzy; any noise that wasn’t the wind fading into nothingness.

The hand with his phone dropped down from his ear as he stared at the icy waters below.

What was stopping him from going down there?

Nothing. 

His social worker wouldn’t have to deal with him once he got back; albeit Niki said he had been her favorite out of the kids she’s met. 

He wouldn’t have to deal with another decade of being thrown between different foster homes. Phil wasn’t going to let him stay around long, right?

“Tom-“

Wilbur probably had a point.

“-mmy?”

His only purpose was to get in the way.

“TOMMY!”

Wilbur’s shout dragged him out of his thoughts as he bought the phone back to his ear, blinking slowly.

“Turn your location on and send it to me-“

Too tired and worn out to argue back, he hesitantly turned his location on.

-

Wilbur got there in a matter of minutes, a fact Tommy realized when he heard the car pull up a little ways away from the bridge; which was old enough to probably collapse if the car had been on it.

Wilbur hadn’t bothered to shut the door as he got out, dashing out and onto the bridge.

He felt his heart drop as he noticed just how close to the edge of the bridge Tommy was. Even the slightest shift in wind would definitely send Tommy over.

Wilbur knew how far that drop was, because he knew people who have jumped; and he knew nobody had survived that fall.

The thoughts alone sent shivers down his spine and god, Wilbur would never fucking forgive himself if he were the reason Tommy did the same as all of them had. 

“T-Tommy- “  His voice wavered as he carefully stepped towards the blonde, slowly as if he were approaching an injured animal.

Tommy silently set his phone down, halfheartedly looking over his shoulder.

Worried brown eyes locked onto dull blue ones, and they were both silent as Wil took another step towards him.

“Tommy- Toms- c-can you do me favor and get off the railing-“ Wilbur started, his voice shaking from a mixture of the cold and the absolute fear he felt seeing how close Tommy was to falling.

This was  _ Tommy _ , hell, his  baby brother \- 

This was all his fault.

Why’d he let himself get so upset over stupid fucking guitar strings? Something that could so easily be replaced- unlike a sibling.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the thoughts, Wilbur reverted his attention back to the unstable teenager right by the edge.

“Tommy, please.”

Silence.

It was suffocating.

Tommy shifted, moving to push himself up off the railing back towards Wilbur. 

The brunette’s heart dropped as the noise of wood cracking hit his ears. 

God, he hoped his paranoia was just messing with him.

By the way Tommy’s eyes filled with fear, however, he slowly realized it wasn’t just his imagination. It was real.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse; the wind blew stronger and Tommy teetered. 

Wilbur rushed forward with outstretched arms, wrapping them around the smaller’s waist as he quickly pulled the blonde back as the wood where and around Tommy’s sitting spot splintered and broke completely.

The two tumbled to the ground and Wilbur’s hands shakily moved to hold Tommy close, cradling the boy in his arms as he pressed his face against his shoulder. “O-oh my god-“ He murmured

Tommy was shaking in his arms, and it took Wilbur a few moments to recognize the source of them as sobs; silent, choked up ones that broke Wilbur’s heart.

“Wh-why’d you-“ Tommy started, the words catching in his throat as he debated saying just what he had in mind. 

Wilbur shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around the younger before swiftly helping him to his feet and back to the car. 

Once they were sat safely in the warm car, Tommy curled up into the tethered brown coat. With tears still dripping down his cheeks, his mouth moved before his brain did.

“Why’d you save me-“

Immediately the atmosphere in the car turned tense, the question hung in the air as Tommy noticed Wilbur’s knuckles turn white from how hard he gripped the steering wheel.

He shrunk back into the seat, ignoring the way his heart pounded in his ears.

“I-I’m sorry- I don’t-“

“Tommy look at me.”

The blonde swallowed, keeping his eyes glued to the car floor as his mind raced. He fucked up he fucked up he-

“Thomas. Fucking _look at me_.”

Hesitantly, Tommy’s gaze shifted up and locked onto Wilbur’s. Terrified blue eyes shifting to confusion as he processed the look across Wilbur’s face.

His eyes were glossy, wet with tears that finally fell down his reddened cheeks as Wilbur had to keep his mouth shut to stop himself from sobbing out loud.

It was like staring into a mirror, Tommy thought to himself. They both looked so  broken

“Toms, l-listen to me.” Wilbur started, hands moving off the steering wheel to Tommy’s shoulders. He felt his heart shatter even further as Tommy cowered away from the touch for a moment.

“No matter what you could ever fucking do, I would never-  _ never _ in my entire  life let anything like that happen to you. Your a child; my little brother- I could never stand by and watch you get hurt. The shit I said was completely unacceptable and I should’ve fucking considered how it would hurt you but I didn’t. I can’t fully express it to you right now but I need you to realize that I would  NEVER let anything happen to you that could result in your death-“ 

Another wave of silence flooded the air between the two, Wilbur’s heavy breathing contrasting against Tommy’s once again choked sobs before Wilbur pulled him into a tight hug.

”You’re so important to me, Toms. So fucking important, I can’t loose you-“

  
Wilbur listened to the blonde sob into his shirt, grip on his sweater tightening as if letting go would kill him.

They sat there, holding onto each other for dear life as they just took in the presence of the other.

Finally, Tommy spoke quietly.

“..I-I’m sorry about your strings-“

God, what was Wilbur gonna do with him?

“For the the love of-screw the strings, Toms- I’m sorry I was such an asshole.”

  
Another pause-

“...Hey Wil.?”

“Mhm.?”

“I love you.”

Wilbur held him tighter.

“I love you too, Tommy.”

They were gonna be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it!! I hope this came out ok, as I kinda rushed to get it out for Christmas. I based a few of the things Tommy thought about off my own experiences n shit; and basically made Wilbur comfort him how I wish I was comforted at the time.
> 
> Thanks for reading this! Maybe I’ll do more with this specific AU thing in the future

**Author's Note:**

> Edited a few things in this chapter!! Also welcome to I can’t keep story titles one thing.
> 
> Also!! User change pog!!


End file.
